The one economic benefit of QE has been to help governments finance the huge
deficits caused by recession without having to raise taxes, slash public
spending or face Greek-style bankruptcy. In this sense, QE has certainly
prevented the U.S. and Britain from suffering worse outcomes, but it has failed
to stimulate employment or economic growth. This is exactly what Japan has
experienced for 20 years – and as in Japan, additional rounds of QE now will
merely act as an anesthetic, perpetuating stagnation but discouraging more
effective stimulus measures.
One such radical measure is too controversial for any policymaker to mention
publicly, although some have discussed it in private: Instead of giving newly
created money to bond traders, central banks could distribute it directly to the
public. Technically such cash handouts could be described as tax rebates or
citizens’ dividends, and they would contribute to government deficits in
national accounting. But these accounting deficits would not increase national
debt burdens, since they would be financed by issuing new money, at zero cost to
government or to future generations, instead of selling interest-bearing
government bonds.
Giving away free money may sound too good to be true or wildly irresponsible,
but it is exactly what the Fed and the BoE have been doing for bond traders and
bankers since 2009. Directing QE to the general public would not only be much
fairer but also more effective.
Suppose the new money created since 2009, instead of propping up bond prices,
had simply been added to the bank accounts of all U.S. and British households.
In the U.S., $2 trillion of QE could have financed a cash windfall of $6,500 for
every man, woman and child, or $26,000 for a family of four. Britain’s QE of
£375 billion is worth £6,000 per head or £24,000 per family. Even if only half
the new money created were distributed in this way, these sums would be easily
large enough to transform economic conditions, whether the people receiving
these windfalls decided to spend them on extra consumption or save them and
reduce debts.
http://blogs.reuters.com/anatole-kaletsky/2012/08/01/how-about-quantitative-easing-for-the-people/
CSPAN Rep Paul Kanjorski Reviews the Bailout Situation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD8viQ_DhS4&feature=player_embedded
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